Starring:
Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie
Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie
William Moseley as Peter Pevensie
Anna Popplewell as Susan Pevensie
Tilda Swinton as White Witch
James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus
Jim Broadbent as Professor Kirke
Kiran Shah as Ginarrbrik
James Cosmo as Father Christmas
Elizabeth Hawthorne as Mrs. MacReady
Patrick Kake as Oreius
Shane Rangi as General Otmin
Liam Neeson as Aslan (voice)
Ray Winstone as Mr. Beaver (voice)
Dawn French as Mrs. Beaver (voice)
Rupert Everett as Fox (voice)
Cameron Rhodes as Gryphon (voice)
Philip Steuer as Philip the Horse (voice)
Jim May as Vardan (voice)
Sim Evan-Jones as Wolf (voice)
Special Features:
Disc 1: From Director Andrew Adamson, The Extended Motion Picture with Additional Scenes. Plus Bloopers, Narnia Fun Facts, Kids’ & Director Commentaries.
Disc 2: An In-Depth Look at the Two Worlds of Narnia — With Reflections and Stories From the Cast and Crew, and an Extensive Review of Narnia’s Creatures, Lands, & Legends.
Disc 3: All-New! “C.S. Lewis — Dreamer of Narnia” The Exclusive World-Premiere, Feature-Length Film on the Man Who Created the Land of Wonder and Enchantment Called Narnia.
Disc 4: All-New! “Visualizing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: The Complete Production Experience”; “Anatomy of a Scene: Behind the Battle”; Art of Narnia Gallery
Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound
English 5.1 Home Theater Mix
French and Spanish Language
French, Spanish, English SDH Subtitles
Running Time: 150 Minutes
Synopsis:
The following is from the DVD cover:
“Journey into the world of Narnia and share with your loved ones the most magical 4-disc DVD masterpiece ever! Venture deeper into a beloved fantasy world with this extended four-disc collection that presents the original motion picture featuring new and expanded scenes, enhanced special effects, and an extended climactic battle scene added by director Andrew Adamson. Experience hours of extensive bonus material including an exclusive world-premiere, feature-length film about C.S. Lewis, the creative mind behind Narnia. Enjoy a vivid and in-depth companion guidebook. Plus, visualize the complete production process — from green screen to big screen — with an additional state-of-the-art special feature.”
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Four-Disc Extended Edition” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
This DVD contains the extended edition of Narnia which is 15 minutes longer than the theatrical version. (For my review of the regular edition, click here.) I’ll be honest, I had a hard time spotting the new footage among the original footage. Most of the new scenes are little moments inserted among the familiar scenes. For example, in the opening moments on the train out of London, Lucy offers her teddy bear to the dejected Edmund. Edmund in turn gives the teddy bear to other young kids on the train. It’s so quick and minor that you’d almost forget it wasn’t originally there. More notable are new scenes added to the final battle. You see the weird bat-like creatures attacking the griffins and eagles. You see more battling between the centaurs and minotaurs. But is it worth buying this entirely new DVD? You’ll have to decide for yourself.
Most of the bonus features were included on the previously released DVD. However, there are three notable additions. There’s “C.S. Lewis — Dreamer of Narnia”. It’s a feature length biography on the life of C.S. Lewis. It’s pretty interesting. It recaps his early life, his experiences in WWI, his relationship with J.R.R. Tolkien, his Christianity, and his eventual marriage. Interwoven with this is a recap the entire Narnia saga including Prince Caspian, Horse and His Boy, The Last Battle, and others. If you ever wanted to learn more about C.S. Lewis, this is something well worth checking out.
The second major new bonus feature is “Visualizing The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: The Complete Production Experience”. It’s a very unique extra in that it essentially plays the entire movie on one part of the screen while interviews with cast and crew, behind the scenes footage, and animatics play elsewhere on the screen. It’s kind of a neat way to experience both the movie and featurettes at the same time. Also included is a 7 minute look at the final battle entitled “Anatomy of a Scene: Behind the Battle”. You see animatics, footage without special effects and more. Rounding things out is the Art of Narnia Gallery which contains production paintings, CG maquettes, and other cool stuff.
If you’re a die-hard fan of Narnia, then this is definitely the edition you’ll want for your collection. But if you already own the DVD and you’re not a fanatic, that previous version may be good enough for you.
